Free Rise of Keitus by Andrea Pearson Page A

her ear and looked at him curiously.
    Jacob took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. He didn’t feel so annoyed with Azuriah now, and he tried not to let his earlier frustration return as he explained what had happened.
    “You ran into me in the past—twenty years ago, you say—and I recognized you?” Aldo’s face lit up, and the colors around him changed to a very bright green.
    Jacob nodded. “Yeah.”
    “I don’t remember any of that. How fascinating!”
    “Okay, but I’ve got to find a way to Travel to the past without people recognizing me.”
    The Fat Lady rubbed her chin. “I’ve got a theory as to what’s going on, but I need more information. When exactly did Gallus and Aldo start to recognize you?”
    Jacob chewed on the inside of his cheek, thinking. “It wasn’t until they came close and talked to me directly.”
    “Do you think it was because we’d heard your voice?” Aldo asked, shifting a pile of books on his left to a more general, in-front-of-him position.
    Jacob shook his head. “You didn’t act weird until after I’d said a few things. I think it was while you were actually looking at me.”
    The Fat Lady squealed. “Yes, yes! That’s it. That’s what I was thinking.” Her hands waved in the air as she spoke. “You’ve got Shiengol blood in you—you know that now, right?”
    “Right.”
    “The Shiengol's magic is centered in their eyes. This is what it has to be: when people who know you now—in the present—get close enough in the past to actually look at your eyes, that’s when they start to remember you. But it’s not a real remembering. Like Azuriah said, they’re feeling the emotions they’d have for you in the future.”
    Aldo chuckled. “You said I wanted to hug you, huh? I must think you need comforting or something. Don’t worry—I’ve felt that way before, but it’s not a constant thing.”
    “So,” the Fat Lady continued before Jacob could respond. “We need to find a way to mask your eyes—keep people from recognizing you through them.”
    “I could create glasses!” Aldo jumped to his feet, knocking over one of his stacks. “I’ve always wanted to wear them, but don’t need to. Second-best thing? Making a pair for someone else!”
    Jacob laughed. “That sounds like a great idea.”
    The Fat Lady and Aldo then took turns sharing what they’d learned about the bugs. Jacob had been expecting it to be a lot, but it really wasn’t. However, the two were so excited about their findings that he left in much better spirits.
    Over the next couple of days, he Keyed back and forth from Taga to Earth, running errands for Aldo to hobby and craft stores in the valley where he lived.
    Finally, Aldo had a design ready for testing.
    “Be very careful with them,” he said, handing over the odd contraption.
    Jacob held them up, trying not to frown. They weren’t exactly what he’d pictured, but then, Aldo didn’t have a lot of experience with actual glasses.
    The lenses were square-shaped and had a slight brown tint to them—just like Jacob’s neighbor’s glasses. And she was a really old woman. The frames were made of wood and plastic intertwined awkwardly.
    “Go ahead,” Aldo said. “Try ‘em on.” He was practically bouncing with excitement.
    Jacob placed the frames over the bridge of his nose and looked through the lenses. His actual vision didn’t change—the glass wasn’t constructed to correct things—but the frame was very uncomfortable. He wouldn’t be able to wear them for long.
    “Oh, so dashing,” the Fat Lady said. Jacob rolled his eyes.
    Removing the glasses, he handed them back to Aldo. “Is there a way to smooth down a couple of spots on them?”
    “Which spots?”
    Jacob showed the older man a few sections where the wood had pressed uncomfortably into his skin.
    “Easy enough! Give me just one second.” Aldo jumped over a stack of books and grabbed a box of tools, pulling out a knife. After hunching over the glasses